This invention relates an apparatus for traveling at high speeds over water; and more particularly, to an apparatus combining a mode of operation of a ground-effect ship with a plurality of marine engine assemblies so as to provide a benefit of greater fuel economy, precise maneuvering, and control in all operating conditions.
There is a long felt need throughout the industrialized world to develop alternative transportation systems. Cities are crowded, choked with traffic, and even air transportation systems are increasingly operating at full capacity. Water in the form of rivers, bays, and coastal waterways, are a transportation resource that is not, at this time, being effectively used.
In the United States alone, Long Island Sound, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and many major rivers, are a potential transportation resource. Among the difficulties in developing water transportation is the inherent lack of speed with conventional shipping, and the rough ride associated with hydroplaning ships.
Conventional travel by water is slow and is currently used almost exclusively for freight hauling or leisure travel. The present invention teaches and discloses an apparatus for traveling at high speeds over water with a comfortable ride, dynamic stability, and efficient mechanical traction of props in water.
The instant invention combines the speed of ground effect aircraft, with operationally integrated engine/prop assemblies so as to provide the apparatus with high-speed operation that also provides flight stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,401 issued to Vollmerhausen discloses a Ground Effect Ship utilizing a wing-hull to support a passenger compartment piggyback style. The wing-hull member includes a plurality of pontoon elements, on each wingtip of the wing-hull member, so that, as the apparatus gains cruising speed, a port or a starboard pontoon biases against the waters surface to stabilize the apparatus in sailing-flight operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,582, issued to Lippisch discloses a Ground Effects Utilizing and Transition Aircraft that includes retractable landing gear, enclosed in a floatation/wing combination so as to transition from a boat operation to ground effect and, at higher speeds, to operate as a true aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,476,482, issued to Custer, discloses a Channeled Airplane Wing so as to position a propeller near a trailing edge of a wing channel to increase aerodynamic lift.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,088, issued to Betts, discloses a High Lift Aircraft wherein a canard is attached between a port and a starboard fuselage to provide pitch control for the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,039,550, issued to Beardsley, discloses an Airborne Surface Vehicle and provides a plenum chamber/body shell design that flows air downward such that the air compresses under the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,831, issued to Weiland, discloses a Winged Surface Effect Vehicle that includes oppositely disposed floatation pontoons with a wing structure communicating between the floatation structures.
None of the prior art, taken collectively or individually, discloses an apparatus with a ground-effect flight operation in combination with multiple in-water propulsion; and further, none of the prior art discloses an apparatus wherein a plurality of marine engines pull the apparatus into a stable flight configuration.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a means for high-speed water ground-effect transportation utilizing a forward wing element in combination with a trailing platform element.
Another object of the invention is to provide an aerodynamic lifting means so as to stabilize the apparatus in operation against variant forces of wind and wave.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hydrodynamic lifting means so as to lift the apparatus to a dynamic waterline while the apparatus is operating under flight conditions.
Another object of the invention is to provide a forward wing element so as to generate a coefficient of aerodynamic lift that functions to dampen or cancel vibration caused by the hydrodynamic passage of the apparatus through water.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means for maneuvering operation so as to turn and maneuver the apparatus in xe2x80x98closexe2x80x99 operating conditions, such as when docking.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means for suspension so as to rotate a passenger compartment as the apparatus maneuvers through turns.